Sermons on important subjects by Rev. Paul C. Jong

Letter to
The Church of Pergamos

< Revelation 2:12-17 >

"And to the angel of the church
in Pergamos write, 'These things says He who has the sharp two-edged
sword: 'I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne
is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even
in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed
among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you,
because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who
taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel,
to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans,
which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and
will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.' He who has
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him
who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I
will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written
which no one knows except him who receives it.'"

Exegesis

Verse 12: "And to the angel
of the church in Pergamos write, 'These things says He who has the
sharp two-edged sword:'"

Pergamos was an administrative capital
city in Asia Minor, whose inhabitants worshiped many pagan gods.
In particular, it was a center of emperor worship. By "He
who has the sharp two-edged sword," it means that the Lord
fights against the enemies of God.

Verse 13: "I know your works,
and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast
to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which
Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where
Satan dwells."

While Pergamos was a stronghold of
emperor worship, it also was the place where a servant of God named
Antipas was martyred for refusing the imperial idolatry to defend
his faith in the Lord. The time will come once again when the people
will be coerced to worship the Antichrist, but the saints and servants
of God will defend their faith until the end, just as Antipas had
defended his faith with his own life. To have such a bold faith,
we must start to put our faith into our action now, even if we begin
with small steps. When the time of persecution comes, the saints
and servants of God must especially rely on the Holy Spirit. They
must trust in God and willingly embrace their martyrdom in hope,
so that they can give glory to God and receive the New Heaven and
Earth from Him.

Verse 14: "But I have a few
things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine
of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the
children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit
sexual immorality."

God rebuked the Church of Pergamos
because some of its members held the doctrine of Balaam. Balaam
was a false prophet who led the Israelites away from God and made
them commit idolatry by tempting them to have relationships with
the Gentile priestesses who worshipped idols. The Lord rebuked those
whose faith had left God. The people's hearts had left Him and instead
worshiped the false idols. And the sin of idolatry is the gravest
sin before God.

Verse 15: "Thus you also have
those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate."

The words "Nicolaitan" and
"Balaam" in the Bible are basically synonymous, meaning
"those who prevail over the people." When God said that
there are "those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans,"
this was another way of saying that the church of God must reject
"those who hold the doctrine of Balaam." Those who followed
these doctrines of the Nicolaitans and Balaam were those who pursued
material gains and idolatry. Such people must of course be driven
out of the church of God.

Verse 16: "Repent, or else
I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the
sword of My mouth."

God therefore told the Church of Pergamos
to leave from their worship of false gods and their pursuit of the
worldly gains and return to the right faith, warning them that unless
they repent, He would fight against them with the sword of His mouth.
This is, in other words, a severe stricture in which God warned
that He would punish those who do not repent from following the
doctrine of Balaam, even if they were believers. Those who heard
this warning of God and returned to Him were to live, both physically
and spiritually, but those who did not were to brace themselves
for their physical and spiritual destruction. For the saints and
servants of God to be blessed on this earth and beyond, they must
hear the Word of God and follow the Lord with their faith.

Verse 17: "He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes
I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him
a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one
knows except him who receives it."

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The true saints will embrace even
their own martyrdom. God tells us that to those who are martyred
in His name, He will give the foods of Heaven and record their names
in His Kingdom. For us to live physically and spiritually, we must
listen to what the Holy Spirit has said to the church of God. To
those who overcome-that is, those who win their battle against the
followers of Satan-God will give the righteousness of faith that
delivers them from sin, and, for their faith, He will write their
names into the Book of Life.

The Bible tells us repeatedly in several
different passages that those who persevere until the end will receive
salvation. The saints, in other words, need to be patient in the
end times, so that they can defend their faith in the gospel of
the water and the Spirit. The names of the born-again are written
in the Book of Life. The believers must, therefore, enter the Kingdom
of God by not pursuing material and worldly gains but overcoming
them by faith, until the very day when they will finally stand before
God.